I hail from the deep roots of corn and soybeans in the mosquito infested fields of the midwest. I started working in the 4th grade when my father said, "Grab your hoe, you're going in the fields." From there on, I had an ambitious work ethic and strived for more than just rows of yellow kernels. My grandmother was a teacher and perhaps it was that lifelong learning genetics that brought me into teaching; but it also might have been my family dinner discussions bringing up what "Mrs. Jones said," I had every evening when asked how kindergarten went for the day. I taught at the University of Illinois in their laboratory school for 7 years with a grand exposure to working in a diverse population of cultures, disabilities, ages (preschool-graduate students), languages, backgrounds, varying levels of learning, colleagues with different experiences, and students from all over the world as the U of I is known as a research school. After completing a dual masters at the U of I, I moved to New York City. I taught inner-city youth in the borough of Brooklyn at a charter school as a kindergarten and SETSS teacher. There, I fulfilled a passion for encompassing students’ social, emotional, and academic needs as well as building rapport with not only the students, but their families. It was in the neighborhood of Brownsville, BK that I found learning with the students to be even more enriching than teaching them. As adventures would go, mine went from the east coast to the best coast and by best, I mean west. I have always felt that having one’s social and emotional well-being nurtured leads to a more engaging academic education. This belief granted me the exploration of accepting a position of therapeutic teaching where I remain today in the innovative Los Altos School District. The way in which I get my therapy includes but is not limited in: hiking, biking, water sports, traveling, going to music shows such as Phish, and having loads of fun with friends and family.